The president of Atlanta-based Tyler Perry Studios died Friday night when the small plane he was piloting crashed on Florida’s Gulf Coast.
The studio confirmed on Saturday that Steve Mensch, its 62-year-old president and general manager, had died.
“We are incredibly saddened by the passing of our dear friend Steve Mensch,” the studio said in a statement. “Steve was a cherished member of our team for more than eight years and well-beloved in the community of Atlanta. It’s hard to imagine not seeing him smiling throughout the halls. We will miss him dearly. Our heart goes out to his family as we all send them our prayers.”
The crash happened in Homosassa, about 60 miles north of Tampa. Photos from the scene show the plane having come to rest upside down on a road. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.
The single-engine Vans RV-12IS was registered to Mensch at his home address in the Atlanta suburb of Fayetteville, according to FAA records.
Mensch helped advocate for and maintain Georgia’s film tax credit of more than $1 billion a year. Those lavish subsidies have made Georgia one of the most active places in the United States for film and television production.
Mensch got into the movie business when he started working for Feature Systems, which provides equipment for the movie industry. He was hired by Atlanta-based Turner Broadcasting to run its studio operations, later becoming director of strategic production partnerships. It was there that he began to lobby state government for more aid to movie and television production.
Ric Reitz, an actor who also helped create the tax credits, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Mensch helped market the state before the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and helped launch the Georgia Production Partnership, an entertainment industry lobbying group.
“He was trying to formulate the vision for the marketplace before the Olympics and wanted a think tank of people in the community to make Georgia competitive,” Reitz said. “He was an important figure in the our growth to become a strong film and TV market.”
After a year helping plan and build a giant studio in China and brief stint helping to open Third Rail Studios in suburban Atlanta. Perry hired Mensch to help create and run his namesake studio in 2016. The studio sprawls across 330 acres of a former Army base in southern Atlanta that Perry acquired in 2015.
Mensch died on the same day that Perry released “The Six Triple Eight,” a war drama about a mostly Black and all-female World War II battalion. The film was shot at the Atlanta studio.
Mensch is survived by his wife, Danila, and three children.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — In sending Roman Anthony to Fort Myers, Fla., to continue his injury rehabilitation, the Red Sox have assigned him one blunt goal: Make it back to Boston.
The geographic reassignment is “a very good opportunity,” interim manager Chad Tracy said, for Anthony to not have to deal with much other than figuring out a way to return from a partially torn ligament in his right ring finger, which continues to impact his hand/wrist — and, thus, his ability to swing a bat.
“His focus, a singular focus now, is if you’re in Florida, it’s to get yourself healthy and not have to deal with all the other stuff that goes with it,” Tracy said before Sunday night’s series finale against the Angels. “So it’s a singular focus, very focused on getting himself healthy and getting back to us.
“We want him. We want him in the lineup. So I’m going to keep in touch with him frequently and see how he’s doing, with the hope that we get him back.”
And “other stuff” refers to what?
“Just the day-to-day of being at Fenway,” Tracy said. “He’s going to get asked questions about it constantly. And for him being there, his focus is on one thing right now: That’s get yourself healthy.”
When Tracy first mentioned Saturday that the Sox decided Anthony would be based out of their Fenway South spring training/minor league facility indefinitely, he presented it as logistical. The home clubhouse at Fenway had grown crowded because of the number of injured players, he said, so moving Anthony was a way to open space — as the Sox had done with a handful of pitchers previously.
On Sunday, Tracy added: “It’s also a very good opportunity for him to go and get away from” the “other stuff.”
Anthony has been out since May 4, when he got hurt on a seemingly random swing.
Nine weeks later, he has not resumed a hitting program as he and the Sox navigate the highly unusual baseball injury.
This week, Anthony will visit a new doctor: Gary Lourie in Atlanta. Lourie is a hand specialist, the Braves’ head team physician, and a partner at The Hand & Upper Extremity Center of Georgia.
“Just for peace of mind,” Tracy said. “I expect we’re going to be in a good spot. But really just about getting him in a spot where he can focus each day on just pounding away at getting that hand healthy.”
The latest in the plight of Triston Casas: He has suffered from a wrist issue in recent days, Tracy said, so he is shut down from hitting again.
The Red Sox will “check on that” before letting Casas resume anything bat-related, per Tracy.
For Casas, 26, it is another in a string of injuries. He hasn’t played since having knee surgery 14 months ago, and for the past three months he had been trying to return from an abdominal issue.
“He’s gone through a lot,” Tracy said. “Between the knee, he had a little hamstring flareup, obviously the oblique, and then he’s coming back from that, and now there’s a wrist that’s popped up.
“So, just dealing with different things. Having not played in a while, things have popped up. So we’ll keep an eye on him, and once he’s able to, keep progressing as we can.”
Connelly Early’s second opinion, also this week, will be with Dr. Keith Meister in Arlington, Texas, the team said. Meister is a leading orthopedic and sports medicine surgeon who specializes in elbow problems.
Following his early exit Tuesday, Early got an MRI and was diagnosed with posterior elbow inflammation but no structural damage, the Red Sox said Wednesday.
Anthony Seigler batted leadoff for the fourth time in five games. Tracy called him “a logical choice for it” because of his ability to swing at strikes, not swing at balls, and work lengthy at-bats. “He puts the bat on the ball,” Tracy said, “and help hopefully get the game started off right for us” … Masataka Yoshida was the DH, just his second start in a stretch of seven games (amid a run of the Sox facing more lefthanded starters than usual) … The Sox’ next rotation decision is Thursday. They could go with Sonny Gray (on turn), Patrick Sandoval (for his long-awaited team debut), or somebody else against the White Sox.
Tim Healey can be reached at timothy.healey@globe.com. Follow him @timbhealey.
PEMBROKE PARK, Fla. — U.S. Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar, R-Florida, joined “This Week in South Florida” on Sunday.
She discussed the response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela and how the country’s interim administration is handling the response, as well as immigration reform efforts.
Watch her interview with host Glenna Milberg in the video player above.
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Surveillance video shows family narrowly avoid lightning strike
A father and his children had a near miss during a thunderstorm in Massachusetts.
A man died and three of his family members were injured after a lightning strike hit people in the water off Fort Myers Beach in Florida on July 3, authorities said.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said deputies responded around 2:20 p.m. Friday, July 3, to the 6500 block of Estero Boulevard after reports that a man had been struck by lightning while swimming in the Gulf. When first responders arrived, bystanders were already performing CPR.
Despite immediate life-saving efforts from witnesses and emergency crews, the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Officials said the strike happened during active storm conditions moving through the area.
Authorities identified the victim as 51-year-old Viktar Kiryk.
Deputies said the three family members who were with Kiryk were transported to a local hospital for evaluation. Officials said they were in stable condition following the incident. Emergency crews responded across multiple locations along Estero Boulevard as calls came in. USA TODAY reached out to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office for additional comment.
Lightning is a frequent hazard in Florida, especially during summer storm season. The National Weather Service says about 20 people are killed by lightning in the United States each year, with hundreds more injured.
Florida consistently ranks among the most lightning-prone states in the country. Lee County and nearby areas have been identified as frequent hotspots in recent annual lightning activity reports.
Safety officials warn that lightning can strike up to 10 miles from a storm and that anyone outdoors should seek shelter immediately if thunder is heard. They recommend waiting at least 30 minutes after the last sounds of thunder before returning outside.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT
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